10 great children’s books about Valentine’s Day and love

The following is a list of some great children’s books about Valentine’s Day or simply about love. My daughter Ally, 4, and I have read and enjoyed each of these books. They are not ranked in any special order.

1. How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You? (By Jane Yolen and Mark Teague) – This is a fun book about why parents will always love their “little dinosaurs.” In this book, the parents are actually raising dinosaurs. And even though they throw sand in the sandbox, kick the car seat or wake up in a bad mood, their parents always love them. The story also talks about the sweet things the dinosaurs do – like blowing kisses or holding hands – that make their parents happy. This is another great book in the “How Do Dinosaurs…” series of books.

Buy it: How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You?

2. The I Love You Book (By Todd Parr) – This would be another great book for parents to give to their little ones for Valentine’s Day. This book explains that parents love their children just the way they are, no matter what they do. The book explains that parents love their children when they are scared or brave, silly or sad, or asleep or awake. My daughter loves the fun, colorful and cartoonish illustrations in the Todd Parr books.

Buy it: The I Love You Book

3. Henry in Love (By Peter McCarty) – This is a sweet story about Henry who has a crush on his classmate, Chloe. One day, Henry is excited to take a blueberry muffin to school for his snack. At recess, Henry does a forward roll to impress Chloe and she shows him a perfect cartwheel. At snack time, Henry gives Chloe his blueberry muffin and he ends up eating a carrot instead.

Buy it: Henry in Love

4. My Heart is Like a Zoo (By Michael Hall) – This is a fun, ryhming book with brightly-colored illustrations that young readers will love. The story begins “My heart is like a zoo …” and explains on each page how it is as “eager as a beaver,” “silly as a seal” or “steady as a yak.” Each animal illustration in the book is made of heart shapes and readers are encouraged to see how many hearts they can count.

Buy it: My Heart is Like a Zoo

5. Love, Splat (By Rob Scotton) – A cat named Splat likes another cat named Kitten. But Splat doesn’t understand why Kitten always pulls his ears and pokes his belly. On Valentine’s Day, Splat makes a card for Kitten but throws it away when he finds out that Spike also likes Kitten. Kitten finds the card in the trash and then gives Splat a valentine. Her valentine explains that she pulls his ears because his fur is soft and she pokes his belly because it makes a silly noise. Both Splat and Kitten’s valentines end with the same three words – “I like you.”

Buy it: Love, Splat

6. Fancy Nancy Heart to Heart (Based on the creation of Jane O’Connor) – Fancy Nancy loves all of the fancy parts of Valentine’s Day from the flowers to the chocolates. And of course, she loves making fancy valentines. Then Nancy finds a valentine that someone left for her, but she doesn’t know who it’s from. She solves the mystery by following a trail of glitter which leads to her little sister. Nancy gives her sister a valentine and her last piece of chocolate.

Buy it: Fancy Nancy Heart to Heart

7. Froggy’s First Kiss (By Jonathan London) – Froggy has a crush on his classmate, Frogilina. They play together on the playground and Frogilina gives him treats from her lunch box. Then Frogilna kisses Froggy and he gets teased that she is his girlfriend. For Valentine’s Day, his class makes valentines and Froggy hides as he writes “I love you” on one of his cards. The next morning, Froggy gives his mom the special valentine he made and his mom gives him candy kisses.

Buy it: Froggy’s First Kiss

8. You Are My I Love You (By Maryann K. Cusimano and Satomi Ichikawa) – This may be a tear-jerking read for parents (it certainly was for me), but it will be a sweet book for parents to read with their children. It explains what parents and their children mean to each other and what they give each other. “I am your dinner; you are my chocolate cake. I am your bedtime; you are my wide awake” is just one example from this lovely, rhyming story. The illustrations of the two bears are precious. I just love it.

Buy it: You Are My I Love You

9. Franklin’s Valentines (By Paulette Bourgeois) – I’m a big fan of all the Franklin books because they always include a lesson. This one is no exception and features a great lesson about friendship. As Franklin is rushing out of the door on Valentine’s Day, his fails to notice when the cards he made for his friends fall out of his backpack and land in a puddle. Franklin is crushed when he realizes he doesn’t have any valentines to hand out at school. He’s even sadder when his friends give him their valentines. But his friends let him know they don’t need a valentine to know that they’re his friend. The next day, Franklin brings cards for his friends and explains that these cards are for Friendship Day, which can be any day of the year.

Buy it: Franklin’s Valentines

10. Roses Are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink (By Diane de Groat) – Gilbert is making valentines for his classmates with a nice poem on each one. But then he remembers when two of his classmates – Lewis and Margaret – were mean to him. So he writes poems that aren’t so nice for them and signs a different name. Margaret and Lewis are upset with the valentines and soon they figure out they were from Gilbert. Gilbert explains to Lewis and Margaret why he wrote the bad valentines and they become friends again. Then Gilbert makes two nice valentines for his friends.

Buy it: Roses Are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink